Harvester of Sofia continuous with the series of interviews with the chapterheads of different local chapters all over the world and some crazy Metallca fans.  Our next guest is the Chapterhead of one of the most famous and most emblematic Local Chapters (actually it is a World Chapter), Raquel form Metallichicks!!!

James with Metallichciks Banner!!!

HOS: What is your name (nickname) where are you from?

R@quel: My name is Raquel Robinson from Las Vegas, Nevada.

HOS: When was the first time you have heard Metallica and which song?

R@quel: I honestly don’t remember the first Metallica song I ever heard. It was probably sometime in the early 90′s, probably off of the Black Album. I’m guessing maybe Enter Sandman, but I don’t remember.

HOS: Your favorite album or song? And explain why?

R@quel: My favorite album is …And Justice for All, because the lyrics are angry and pure, and very well written. There’s a lot of emotion in that album, it really comes out in James’ voice and I enjoy it a lot. My favorite song off that album is probably The Frayed Ends of Sanity. Why? Because I like singing along with the guitars at the beginning of the song!

HOS: When and where you have seen Metallica Live? Which one is your personal favorite? And how many concerts you want to see in the future?

R@quel: I’ve seen Metallica a grand total of 11 times throughout the years all over the United States, and I’ll be seeing them two more times before the end of the year. If I had the money and the time I’d road trip across the country and see every show on the tour, but unfortunately that’s not an option for me.

My favorite gig was the Bridge School show in October 2007 in San Francisco California. It was an all acoustic show, and they pulled out a few surprises no one was expecting, like an all-acoustic version of All Within My Hands! You may think that sounds weird, but it was excellent.

My favorite piece of concert swag is the picture I have of James holding the Metallichicks banner on stage taken in Phoenix, Arizona last year. The photo was taken by Ross Halfin. I remember handing the banner to James from the rail, and he said “for me?” like he was really surprised I was giving it to him. He looked straight into my eyes and said “thank you” and he was very sincere. It was probably my favorite Metallica moment, and it meant a lot to me.

HOS: Where are the craziest Metallica fans you’ve ever met?

R@quel: The craziest Metallica fans I’ve met were in Tucson, Arizona at the Pima County Fairgrounds. By “crazy” I mean bad. They were terrible, violent, and all very drunk. I went home with bruises and cracked ribs. It was a great show, but I couldn’t really enjoy it because I was in so much pain, and I kept getting kicked in the head by fat ugly crowd surfers. There were 30,000 people, all general admission, all pushing forward, and I was at the very front. There were 30,000 people, all general admission, all pushing forward, and I was at the very front.

HOS: Would you take the offer to work for Metallica if they ask you to?

R@quel: I think working for Metallica would be a dream come true for any fan. I can’t say that I would definately say yes, but I would strongly consider it.

Raquel and Jennifer meet in a Las Vegas, Nevada casino! Jennifer flew all the way out from New York!

HOS: If it was up to you what would you change in the live performance of Metallica?

R@quel: If I were queen of the universe, and I had the power to dictate to Metallica what their setlist would be, I would retire songs like Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters from the setlist FOREVER!!! And in their place I’d put some less-played songs from the other albums. And at least one song at every show would have to be a rarely or never played song. You may not want to hear songs like Mama Said or Fixxxer the entire show, but as a special little treat or an encore, it might be interesting. And ponies. Metallica’s live performances definetly lack ponies. I would definately add more ponies to every show. *wink*

HOS: If I have never been at a metallica show how you..ll convince me to go?

R@quel: If you’ve never been to a Metallica show, I feel bad for you. You’re really missing out. I’d probably tell you that you haven’t really lived unless you’ve seen the might machine that is Metallica, live! (And if that doesn’t work, I’d probably tell you they give free pony rides in the parking lot.)

HOS: When did you join the MetClub and when was born the idea for metallichicks.com? I officially joined Metclub in 2003 with my then-boyfriend (now my husband). We joined primarilly so we could buy pre-sale tickets to shows.

R@quel: The idea for Metallichicks was born on the Metboards, both the public forum and PPM. A girlfriend of mine, Amberlee, and I would take turns posting, and together we formed bonds with the other women who posted on the same board. In short, Metallichicks was born because both Amberlee and I thought James Hetfield was hot stuff, and discovered a whole lot of female fans felt the same! It was all really innocent and silly, and fun. What made us angry was that we were not able to express our “girly” feelings publicly without being mocked by other posters, or having our topics and posts deleted entirely. There was a huge double standard, because the same rules did not apply to the guys who made sexual comments about female celebrities without any such penalties. So, in April 2004, after a brief rebellion which resulted in a lot of bannings from PPM and the public boards, Amberlee and I created a website and a forum dedicated to the needs and wants of female Metallica fans. Finally we had a place where we could be girls, talk like girls, and not have anyone question our status as fans.

HOS: What is the main purpose of Metallichicks?

R@quel: The main purpose of Metallichicks has changed a little bit over the years. I think at first, it served as a way of shouting out that we — the female fans — exist, and we count for something! We’re important too, and we love Metallica just as much as the guys do. Now, I think Metallichicks serves as a community of fans, who collectively are stronger and louder than we would be on our own. We as a community are much more laid back then at the beginning of our journey together. Metallichicks has really made a name for ourselves, just by being us. The band knows our name and knows we exist, and they appreciate us as a group– at least that’s the impression I’ve gotten. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. So in essence, the purpose of Metallichicks now, in 2009, is to represent a particular group of fans, and to collectively reach out to the band and let them know that we enjoy them and support them.

HOS: Do you know something for Bulgaria? Would you say something special to the members of HOS?

R@quel: Over the years, I have meet a lot of really good people from the country of Bulgaria. Most of them have come from Sofia. I’m very happy to have known them. A little story – a few years ago, a young lady from Sofia posted her photo on the website, and I loved her hair so much that I printed her photo and took it to my hair dresser. I’ve had the same hair style ever since, and I take her photo with me every time I go to the salon!

What I would say to the members of HOS is that I think you guys have done an excellent job at making a name for yourselves. People in countries all over the world know who you are, and that’s a real feat! Keep supporting each other, and keep showing your love to Metallica!

Signed Metallichicks shirt

More interviews with fans and all kind of metal heads related to Metallica you can read in our new section Fan interviews …